Andrea Westkamp, OSB

Sister Andrea Westkamp is a member of Saint Benedict Monastery in Bristow, VA. Currently, she is serving as subprioress, canonical treasurer, oblate director and spiritual director. Her background is in pastoral counseling, spiritual direction and early childhood education. She enjoys long walks, artwork, reading mysteries. Her passion is exploring the depth of the Rule of Benedict for our times.

Sister Andrea's reflections begin February 21 and continue through Lent.

Sixth Sunday of Lent

Sixth Sunday of Lent
March 28, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Gertrude – Jesus’ Heart
We are concluding our Lenten reflections on the Benedictine Women from our Monastery window. The saint to the very right in our window is Saint Gertrude (1256 – 1302).  You will notice the heart she is holding in her hand.

At the age of four, she entered the monastery school at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta. Gertrude was given to the care of Saint Mechtild of Hackeborn and joined the monastic community in 1266.  It is clear from her own writings that she received a thorough education in a variety of subjects.

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Fifth Sunday of Lent

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 21, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Mechtild – Relationship with God
This week, we are seeking inspiration from another Benedictine woman, who appears in our chapel window at Saint Benedict Monastery in Bristow, VA. She is the second from the right. Her name is Saint Mechtild of Hackeborn (1241 – 1299). She was born at the castle of Helfta near Eisleben, Germany. At the age of seven, she visited her older sister, Gertrude of Hackeborn (not to be confused with Saint Gertrude the Great who was her friend) at the Monastery of Rodarsdorf and started her schooling there.

She was described as a very gifted and amiable young woman, charming, intelligent and having a lovely singing voice. In 1258, Gertrude of Hackeborn moved the monastery to Helfta and Mechtild joined her and was appointed choir mistress as well as being in charge of the cloister school. It was in this position that Saint Gertrude the Great came under her care.

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Fourth Sunday of Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent 
March 14, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Scholastica – Moving the Heavens
Saint Scholastica is in the center of our stained glass window. All we really know about her is from The Dialogues of St. Gregory of Nyssa who relates the story of the twins' meeting and spiritual sharing.

I found the following prayer in a prayer booklet of the Schuyler Benedictines:

"Loving mother, Scholastica,
with a woman's love and confidence in God,
you moved the heavens
with your tears
for the sake of love.
Teach me to live in love
and share generously
the gifts God has given to me.

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Third Sunday of Lent

Third Sunday of Lent
March 7, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Walburga – Healing Presence
This week our companion is Saint Walburga. She is the second one from the left. Note that she is holding an oil lamp in her hand.

Saint Walburga was born in 710 A.D., the daughter of Richard, an under-king of the West Saxons of Britain. She went to school at Wimborne Monastery, Dorset, England, and later became a nun there. At the request of her uncle, Saint Boniface, the “Apostle of Germany”, the Wimborne Monastery sent Walburga and other sisters to form monasteries in Germany. Walburga was a leader during the early Christian years of the Germanic tribes. The feast of Saint Walburga is celebrated on the date of her death, February 25. Her remains were transferred to St. Walburg Monastery in Eichstätt, to which the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia and monasteries in our federation trace their roots.

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Second Sunday of Lent

Second Sunday of Lent
February 28, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Hildegard 2 – Listening with the Heart
Hildegard is a great companion - you might have noticed this already as you journeyed with her this past week.

We reflected on penance and conversion last week. Penance, Hildegard reminds us, begins in the heart and so does conversion.

We keep pondering on the heart and Benedict's words that we need to listen with the ear of our heart. Is this what Benedictine Spirituality helps us to realize for our own lives? Realizing that listening is a matter of the heart? What would be different this Lent if we practiced to listen with the heart?

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First Sunday of Lent

First Sunday of Lent
February 21, 2021
Andrea Westkamp, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Virginia

Hildegard 1 – Deep Listening
We will set out on our Lenten journey this year with five amazing Benedictine Women! These are depicted in a stained-glass window in our monastery chapel in Bristow, VA. As we ponder what it means to be Benedictine and to celebrate the centennial of our federation, these five saints can be role models for us. How did living the Rule of Benedict transform their lives?

As we pray in the chapel daily, the window and the saints speak to us. You can find St. Hildegard (1098 – 17 September 1179) on the left. She is wearing a big cross that signifies her as an abbess. In her right hand, she is holding a quill and in her left, a book. She was a writer, poet, composer, scientist, and herbalist and had other tremendous gifts. Her spirit shimmers through her writings and continues to inspire many.

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